Photos from China

 

On the airplane ready for takeoff.

 

About halfway through the 15 1/2 hour flight.

 

Final pic of the Mason Three.

 

Eden having fun doing her favorite thing... in China!

 

Meeting Zoey for the first time.

 

Eden doing some artwork in our down time.

Sisters getting to know each other.

 

Eden and Zoey with their grandmother, Roberta McWhorter, who joined us again this time around.

 

Our entire adoption travel group.

 

Zoey and Keri feeding the fish.

 

Eden and Zoey at the Guangzhou Botanical Gardens.

 

The Mason Four at the Guangzhou Botanical Gardens.

 

Zoey on our orphanage visit day.

 

Standing at Zoey's finding spot in front of the orphanage.

 

The Masons down by the Pearl River with the Guangzhou skyline behind us.

Day 2 & 3 with Zoey

It's mommy here...enjoying some much-needed down time after a morning of sight-seeing, a great lunch with our travel group, and a long nap!  Gene did a great job filling you in on the details of our day yesterday.  We saw more of the same laid-back, complacent Zoey Faith - a 180 degree difference from Eden's medical appointment with her adoption.  She screamed when they weighed her...Zoey just went with the flow - not a wimper or a flinch.  After the visa medical appointment we went and had a family picture taken for the adoption decree...I think.  All the paperwork runs together - and Gene has been appointed the "paperwork person" while in China.

Zoey is doing great...small progress each day.  It's amazing what 24 hours of family living does for her.  The first night I tried to read "Goodnight Moon" and snuggle her right before putting her in bed and she literally didn't even know how to be read to.  She kept yanking the book, furiously flipping through the pages...much like a baby would instead of a 3 1/2 year old.  Snuggling is definitely a new concept and when I tried to lay her back in my arms she looked everywhere but me - zero eye contact.  I followed the exact same routine last night and this time, she was much calmer and sat still during the book.  When I laid her back to "rock" her she made some eye contact and relaxed into my arms.  It filled my heart with hope and joy to see her enjoying my affection, even though she has no idea yet how to return it.

I can't wait for everyone to meet her (even though it will be a while).  Adorable doesn't begin to describe her.  She is sweet and has a smile that lights up the room.  She has a little prance/swagger when she walks that is so cute!  Part of it I'm sure is her physical delays because she walks on her toes and kind of arches her back and leans her head back...but it is cute!  I call it the Zoey swagger.  She is not verbal yet...except at night she whispers to herself in bed while she "rocks" herself to sleep.  She is repeating a few words back but not much.

Today we went to the Guangzhou Botanical Gardens and she loved feeding the fish.  My favorite part was the "Sun House" where they grew orchids...beautiful!  The rose garden was also lovely.  Tomorrow we will head to MaoMing City to visit the orphanage.  I cannot wait to see where Zoey spent her first 3 1/2 years.  We should meet her foster mother as well and I'm looking forward to meeting her and hopefully learning more about Zoey from her.  It is a long drive...so we will leave at 6:30 a.m. and not return until tomorrow night.  Thankfully, all 4 MaoMing families from our group are going so we are taking the big bus with reclining seats!  The kids will get to eat at the orphanage and we will get to see how they used to sit and eat their meals.  It will be interesting to see how Zoey reacts.  I'm not expecting much emotion from her but you never know...she might surprise us.

We dressed the girls alike today in the cute leopard-print outfits my Aunt Ginger bought them in OK.  They turned heads everywhere we went and we got some great pictures in the Gardens.  I love them both and am so proud to be their mommy.  My sweet Eden amazes me and seems to grow more lovely and mature each day.  She is an amazing big sister and is so delighted that Zoey is now beginning to let her help her.  My mind cannot fathom what my Zoey has endured.  While I have no reason to believe she was ever mistreated physically...the lack of having a mommy has taken an incredible toll on her...especially with her laid-back personality and developmental delays.  These 2 factors combined with orphanage living created a perfect storm in her little life.  I am, however, grateful for the great care she received by orphanage standards. 

I am so thankful that God, in His great wisdom and grace, placed her in our family.  Being her mommy will stretch and grow me in ways that parenting Eden haven't because they are so different.  There is NO way I can give them both what they need apart from His guiding Spirit and grace, energy, love and endurance.  I feel nervous for what lies ahead.  But I also am reminded of God's answer to the Apostle Paul's pleas for an easier life: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."  Paul then said, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Over the past several weeks, I have been reading the book "Anything" by Jennie Allen.  A few days before we left for China I read a portion that God has seared into my heart and mind.  I believe it was Him preparing me for what He has called me to do in this season...so I will leave you with her words:

"When you turn your life over to a living God who sees need, who loves desperately, the way He chooses to pour you out will be as unique as the way He formed you in the womb and placed you in your space on the earth.  Some of our anythings feel flashy and fancy, but most of our anythings fall in secret places.

What we once did in order to matter or to bee seen we forgot all about.  We matter and are seen because of love.  Because there is an object to our actions, we move and love and restore not to matter but because we have been moved, loved, and restored.  Radical acts are not the goal; we are truly moved by a Person, in love with Him, with Christ.  And out of that love comes a willingness to trust and hand over our lives.  Out of that, Jesus, because He is merciful, leads us to the unique places where we can give our lives away."

God's priorities are beautiful, and they trickle down into invisible spaces...into neighborhoods and families and friends and strangers.  He will call us to pour our lives into the cracks around us, and sometimes into cracks far from our doorsteps.  But wherever He calls us, we pour, not wishing for a larger crack or a more noticeable one, or even the one we were expecting.  Truly knowing our beautiful and terrifying God will make us willing to do anything."

From Atlanta, GA to Guangdong China - my anything in this season is a little girl who is orphaned no more.  In the coming months I will pour my life into hers with fierce love and determination, stopping at nothing to see her healed and made whole by her Creator.  God is teaching and changing me through her life...and I am humbled.  Loving and serving Christ, my husband, and my 2 girls fills my heart with joy and love.  It isn't a fancy life...but it is wonderfully fulfilling if I remember for Whose sake I do it.

Love you all...please pray for tomorrow to be all that Zoey needs it to be in order to begin to heal and attach to us!

Day One with Zoey

Hello friends...this is Keri posting.  Zoey is napping and Eden is at the pool with Daddy so I have a few moments to try and collect my thoughts on becoming a family of four.  First and foremost, we are grateful...grateful to be here, at this place, at this time.  The Lord performed a miracle getting us here.  My sweet husband worked tirelessly for 2 years to get to this little girl.  Many of you gave sacrificially and prayed for us...and here we are.  The adoption became official this morning when we returned to the Civil affairs office...but let me back up and give you details of yesterday from mama's perspective...

We got up and had our paperwork meeting with Rebecca (our Lifeline person here).  She was AWESOME!  She did a great job of managing our expectations and she even knew some of our kiddos because of Lifeline's partnership with MaoMing.  She actually warned me that Zoey would not like me, or anyone for that matter, because she doesn't do well with strangers.  Part of our paperwork meeting was having the schedule and information about our children that the orphanage sent translated so that we would know what questions we had when we met the orphanage director later on.  Miko (another Lifeline worker who lives here) sat and translated for me.  We found out Zoey's daily schedule, food she eats, bathroom and sleeping routines, and some information about her development and personality.  She was described as delayed, which we knew.  She was described as peaceful and quiet, slow to react, language delayed and cognitively delayed as well as small in size.  We knew most of this before we came.

So, after paperwork we gathered our "bag of tricks" which for us included a Tigger pez despenser (HUGE HIT), Puff snacks, water bottle, and a couple of toys.  Armed with paperwork, cameras, and butterflies in my stomach, we set off for the Civil Affairs office.  Once there, we were herded to sit and wait.  They called all MaoMing families up and started literally pulling the kids one by one out of the playroom and thrusting them at us.  It was chaotic, surreal, and somewhat funny looking back.  Zoey came out last.  I will never forget that moment as long as I live.  Gene, Eden and I were waiting and they shoved her out and she walked out grinning from ear to ear, looking around, having (I'm convinced) absolutely no idea what was going on. She was just looking all around and grinning.

I finally got her attention and took her hand and walked her over to the side so we could officially meet for the first time.  Mother and daughter, father and daughter, sister and sister, grandmother and granddaughter...finally we were on the same continent, in the same country, in the same province, in the same city, in the same room.  Her reaction was so completely different from our experience with Eden that I was taken aback.  Earlier in the day we found out what "foster care" looked like for her.  She spent her days in the orphanage, and had several other children in her foster home...so there is not the strong attachment Eden had with her foster mom.  Plus, Eden lived with one family from 3 months until we got her at 19 months, and Zoey didn't go until she was 2.

Zoey did cry a little bit yesterday, but not enough in my opinion.  She is sweet and funny, but I can tell we have a long way to go to teach her to attach to anyone.  She is cooperative and playful.  She never resists and doesn't seem scared of anything (baths, strollers, new surroundings/people, brushing teeth, changing clothes).  When we are in the hotel room she is much more engaged.  But when we leave the room she completely zones out...it may be just too much for her - or that may be how she normally is...don't know yet.  What I do know is that this little girl THRIVES with one-on-one attention.  She delights in it.  She craves it.

After we brought her back yesterday we played a little, bathed, ate, and went to bed.  She slept great...but has pretty significant repetitive rocking in her sleep.  I'm assuming it's self-soothing habits from long ago and have no idea what to do because Eden didn't do that.  She woke up happy and smiling this morning.  Ate a great breakfast and then we went back to Civil Affairs to finalize the adoption.  Hasn't cried a bit today...once again, that's not normal.  Any "normal" 3 1/2 year old would be freaking out if they were just taken away less than 24 hours ago from everything familiar.  Eden grieved so hard, and Zoey not at all so far.  So, we will just take it day by day and let the experts at the International Adoption Clinic help us when we get home. 

I'm gonna be transparent here for a minute...I'd rather her be grieving.  With Eden, her grief was so deep that I knew she was very attached to her foster mother.  What I see in Zoey - and it is WAY too early to know for sure - is a little girl who has never truly attached.  She has definitely been well cared for physically.  She has been played with and watched and fed.  I am so grateful for that.  But she is so detached...from everything.  She watches and observes us - which is good.  But I honestly think if I let her, she would sit and play by herself all day long.  When I sit in the floor with her she lights up like a Christmas tree.  When we are alone in the room she will look me in the eye and somewhat engage...but out in public she completely closes down.  Some of this could be her developmental delay...not sure yet.  I do sense (once again too early to know for sure) that there is a true delay there and not just normal orphanage delays.

Oh, and she will eat until she makes herself sick.  So we will have to work on that, too. 

Overall, we are doing wonderfully.  Eden has been incredible.  Loving, patient, kind, and helpful.  Zoey won't engage her much but definitely isn't mean to her.  I think she's more used to playing around other kids than with them, which is typical for her age.  I know it won't be long until she loves her big sister.  I'm thankful there are 2 little girls and 2 little boys Eden's age who are biological kids in our travel group so the siblings are having a great time together while mommys and daddys focus on new little ones.  As usual, my mom is selflessly serving us however we need her to.  I am so grateful for her!

That's all for now...need to get her up so she'll sleep tonight.  Thank you for your prayers.  Love you all!

Christmas Ornament Site Is Up and Running!

Our Christmas ornaments site to raise money for adoption is up and running!  Click below to visit online and purchase a handmade ornament (or two)...

Meant to Be

Keri recently spoke about our adoption at a church Bible study and I made this video at her request to show at the event.  Hard to believe it's been 3 years since we stepped off the plane from China with now-not-so-little Eden Hope.  Enjoying every minute of it!

Mother's Day

I rarely post here these days, but I wanted to take the opportunity to thank my wife, Keri, for being such a wonderful mother and wife.  I think back to July 23, 2007 standing in that hot room on the second floor of the social services building in Wuhan.  We saw the back of Eden's head over the shoulder of her caregiver for the first time and all that waiting finally became real. Frankly I was just out of it--excited, but thinking too much to be feeling anything.

Keri, on the other hand, was full of emotion that ran the gamut. She laughed, she cried. Eden cried mostly.  I think any parent has doubts about whether they are up to the task. I certainly did walking out of that room and back to the bus, our adopted daughter in hand for the first time.  I never had any doubt of Keri, though. She has been a wonderful wife, and that day she added "mom" to her title and I have never ceased to be amazed the skill, talent and love she brings to that role.

So to moms on Mother's Day, thank you.  To my wife on Mother's Day, thank you, I love you, and I can't wait for the Uganda side of our family expansion in the coming months.  And I promise to pick my stuff up off the floor more often.

Fall Happenings

Well, we took Eden trick-or-treating for the first time on Halloween and she definitely got the hang of it. Then, the next day we took a trip to the Atlanta Zoo to see the Giant Panda bears. They were incredible!!! When we were looking at them Eden yelled, "Hey Panda bear, I'm from China, too!" It was so funny. I don't have long to post right now so I'm going to give you a couple of photos. Love you all!

Here is our little "lucky" Ladybug from China.

Eden in front of the Panda habitat in Atlanta.

Aren't these animals amazing? Did you know all Pandas in the USA are leased from the Chinese government?

The rest of these photos are some that my friend took of Eden and me to give to Gene for our anniversary present. On Nov. 6th we celebrated 4 years of marriage. I am so grateful for my husband. He is such a wonderful father and partner. We went to see "Fireproof" for our date and it was a great movie...I highly recommend it! These photos were taken in a community down the road from us called Mount Laurel. Isn't it beatiful?




That's all I have time for today. Our adoption agency (Lifeline) is having their annual fundraiser banquet next Thursday night. I hope to see some of you blogging buddies there! Our pastor, David Platt, is the keynote speaker. He is amazing to listen to because of his passion for God and His Word. Hope to see some of you! Have a great weekend enjoying what's important...not housework, PEOPLE!!!!

I'm A Sewing "Machine"

Ok, not really...but, I finally did dust off the beautiful sewing machine my sweet husband bought me for my birthday a few years ago (haven't sewn a lick since we adopted Eden) and started a project this past weekend. I wasn't brave enough to go at it alone, so I headed to my grandmother's house so she could talk me through the supposedly "quick and easy" pattern.

I had a lot of fun! The dress isn't done yet, but I'm close. Let's just hope the buttonholes and buttons don't undo all my hard work :0) I'm making Eden an Auburn jumper. I'll post a photo when I'm done. My next endeavor is another jumper, and then a Dora shirt to wear with blue jeans or leggings. Then, I'm on to some super-cute Christmas PJ's. We'll all faint if I actually get all this done before Christmas, won't we? But, it's a good goal.

I'm posting this cute picture I caught of Eden the other night at bedtime. Nights are SLOWLY improving. But, even when it's difficult, I can't resist this cute face!!!! Have a great day!

Her sweet eyes were the FIRST thing that drew me in when I saw her photo for the first time on December 14, 2006. They still get me every time!

One last bit of exciting news, my sister who is my best friend in the whole world, is pregnant with her first baby...I'm going to be an aunt and Eden is getting a little cousin. This is my first "local" niece or nephew and I can't wait. I LOVE being an aunt! Well, tomorrow (Tuesday) morning Kelly and Matt will find out if it's a boy or a girl. I can't wait so I can start buying cute stuff and planning a shower. I will post the info tomorrow if she'll let me. I don't want to spill the beans before she gets to tell everyone.

AND, two of my other great friends, Alisa and Amber, are both pregnant and having girls (Hannah Elizabeth and Millie Marie). All 3 of these babies are due in Nov., Jan. and Feb. Blessings abound!

These Boots

Okay, so my mom went to Oklahoma a few weeks ago and brought Eden back some hot pink real, live cowboy boots. Check out the pics...

What a fun age! What a terrible age! Do you get what I'm saying? She can be so precious one moment and so disobedient and selfish the next. I get so frustrated, thinking, what am I doing wrong? People say, "She's just 2, that's part of it." I know that is true is some sense, but at the same time, it still grieves my heart when I see her selfishness rear it's ugly head. I want to scream, "Don't you know how precious you are? Quit acting like that!!!"

It's in these moments of frustration that God usually quietly reminds my heart that I often am that selfish 2-year-old, too. One minute, I'm obedient. The next, I'm screaming, "MINE! NO!" Oh how it must grieve His heart. How He must want to scream, "Don't you know how precious you are? Quit acting like that!!!" He is so faithful to discipline me with a firm but loving hand when I need it (quite often I must admit). Thankfully, He makes no excuses for me. He loves me too much for that.

So, even though she's "only 2," and she looks precious in her cowboy boots, I know I have to choose to do the hard thing and make no excuses for her sinful nature. I must discipline her with a loving and firm hand (or spoon:0). It's just so hard when she looks so cute!!! I think it's even harder for Gene...she knows how to "work" her daddy. Last night he took her to Chick-Fil-A while I had Bible study and as they were leaving I pulled her aside and said, "Eden, please obey your daddy." Sometimes it's funny to watch her work her magic on him. He just can't resist her cuteness. But, after spending a few hours alone with her sometimes I'll notice him becoming more firm with her. I'll think, "Yeah, it's not so cute now, is it?" He'll look so harried and exhausted and I just chuckle. He's such a good daddy.

Well, that's all for now. Hope all of you are doing well. Oh, and I'm happy to report that Eden has slept through the night several times in the last week. What an answer to prayer!

Design on a Dime

I know, don't have a heart attack...I'm actually posting TWO days in a ROW!!! If you haven't checked in on us in a while, there's a recent post from yesterday. Okay, I am quickly becoming addicted to HGTV. I love the show "Design on a Dime." While I am nowhere NEAR their expertise (and my definition of "dime" greatly differs from theirs right now), I have been having some fun getting creative with some little projects around the house. I have had little time for decorating since Eden came home, but thanks to Mother's Day Out, I've been able to do a couple of projects the past few weeks.

I wanted to do some family pictures in Eden's room, but don't have a lot of table top space in there. And, I wanted to utilize one of the Asian silk dresses we bought her in China. So, I set out to Michael's craft store to see if I could muster up some creativity. I am NOT artistic at all (my sister got that gene from my mom) so I needed it to be fairly simple and impossible to mess up. Here's what I came up with:

I was able to find a wall shelf that would hold frames that also had pegs so I could hang the dress. The frames and "E" letter were $1 each and the shelf was $10 or so. They were unfinished wood and I painted them with acrylic paint. So this whole project with paint (I had the spray sealer and brushes already) was about $20. Not bad!

Here is a close-up of the shelf and frames. The flower appliques for the frames were already painted and I just glued them on.

I also needed something with a few hooks for purses/bags. This also came unfinished and I painted it pink and glued the froggy on it.

Also, I love family pictures!!! The walls in my newly painted craft room were bare. So I picked out several pictures that I love of our family and changed them to black and white in i photo. Then I sent them to Wal-Mart digitally to be printed in a variety of sizes. I spray mounted them on black foam board and attached some chocolate brown ribbon that I had left over from a wedding to them for hangers. Here's how it turned out. I love it!!! I'll just go in there a stare at the walls, and these will be easy to update and add to as our family grows and changes.



That's about all we've been up to this week. Stay tuned for a post tomorrow or over the weekend titled "Real Pink Cowboy Boots." You can imagine the sassiness of that one!! Love you all!

Finally an Update!!!

Okay Cheryl, here's the update I promised. Sorry to everyone for the delay. I have lots to catch up on but here's a start:

Eden started school! She goes to Mother's Day Out 2 days a week and was apprehensive at first but is starting to love it. On Monday when they came to get her out of the van in the carpool line she confidently announced to the lady, "Mommy always always always comes back!" as she hopped out of the car and walked in like a big girl. How far we've come!!! She is in the Groovy 2's class with her great friend Mia, who is also in her class at church and gymnastics. Thank you Lord for knowing how much a familiar face would help her feel secure! Boy,0 does God watch out for our little ones or what? She has her own school bag and a Dora lunch box. Mommy LOVES school (8 hours a week alone makes a huge difference)...and I'm even the room mom! Here are some pics of her leaving her first day.

Such a big girl!

She loves Dora!

The rest of these pictures below are just some that capture her sassy, silly and precocious personality. She is a mess, a handful, and an angel. I am amazed daily by the words she is learning. Gene was tickling her the other day and she busted out with, "You're driving me crazy!" He laughed for 5 minutes. I have a feeling her 3's are going to be much more challenging than the 2's have been. She is becoming so opinionated and bossy (much like her mommy, I think). Sometimes it is so funny, but other times so disrespectful. Lord help me as I try to shepherd her heart towards You...so challenging!

Right now my focus is authority. God is daddy and mommy's boss, and we are her boss. We are beginning to teach her Scripture and she knows 4 verses. Her memory astounds me. Now we have to work on making sure she knows what they mean, and how to apply them to daily life, right? Knowledge without obedience is useless.

Sleep continues to be our most difficult challenge with her. We switched her to a "big girl" bed (toddler bed) and now she crawls out of it every night and comes to our room. This is better than her screaming in her crib 3-4 times a night. We have put a cot at the foot of our bed and are trying to train her to crawl in it without waking us up so she can be near us if she needs to be without being IN our bed. She won't let anyone but mommy put her down for bed. She still has so much anxiety with separation at night. Maybe she will always struggle with this. I'm trying to redefine "normal" and adjust my expectations while still gently pushing her towards more confidence and independence in this area. She is now going down to sleep in her bed which is a huge step. She just doesn't stay there. You'll never guess how we got her to do it...she asked if our Lab, Maggie, could sleep in her room. Sweet Maggie!!! She's 9 and just goes with the flow. It comforts Eden to have her in the room.

Here are some recent pictures I thought you'd enjoy. I'll post more soon!

Love yall!

This is how Eden wears her tiara...she is learning she is God's little princess...just like GiGi (a children's book series we love)

We were finally able to buy Eden her long-awaited tricycle because she now is fully potty trained and pooping in the potty like a big girl!

Eden's new big-girl bed.

Playing dress up with sweet Maggie. Poor dog!

I LOVE her in dress up clothes!!! Check out the jewel necklace!

Silly bath time.

More silly bath time.

One Year Later

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Keri and I stood in a rather sparsely furnished room in Wuhan, China on the second floor of the Civil Affairs Office and looked across an aisle of chairs at a little girl for the first time. She was scared to death and so were we. But we were also excited and anxious and ready to smother her with all the love we had been saving up on the 15,000 mile trip from Birmingham, Alabama.

A year later and much has changed in our own lives and in little Eden's life. We never imagined she would be so funny and smart and strange and interesting all at the same time. Those first few days were filled with sadness for her--but the Lord answered our prayers then to join her heart with ours. And God continues to answer our prayers as Eden grows into a sweet, loving, outgoing and beautiful girl.

This past weekend we took a trip to Georgia to visit the "Cabbage Patch Hospital" where the popular children's dolls are "born." We thought it fitting on the anniversary of Eden's adoption that we would celebrate by letting her "adopt" a doll of her very own. She chose a baby boy doll and named him "Moses"--I think she identifies with him when she sees him on the TV floating in a basket down a river in Egypt and being adopted by an Egyptian mother...

Here's a quick video of the experience, along with some recent pictures of Eden and our family. To all who have made the journey with us, personally and through prayer and friendships, thank you and God bless you. Our lives are richer than we could imagine and we give God all the credit for everything good He has done for us. Most of all, we thank Him for allowing us to shepherd the heart of a little girl that He brought to us from half a world away.

Eden Hope Eve

Today is what I call "Eden Eve." One year ago today we were one night away from meeting our sweet daughter for the first time. I remember feeling so nervous, excited, and emotional. I was about to become a mommy for the first time. And a little girl was about to become a daughter for the first time. And a foster mom was about to have to say goodbye to the child she had loved and cared for for 13 months. It was the boldest step of faith I have ever taken to begin down the road to adoption. To say God has provided and poured out His mercy and grace is an understatement. I will post more tomorrow. But here are some pictures of what we were doing in Wuhan, China this time last year...

We were filling out our paperwork to take Eden into our custody.

This is some of what we wrote.

I set up a little play area with toys we brought from home, and made up her crib.

I packed a diaper bag with diapers, toys and snacks. I had no idea what I would need for her.

Katie Lyn, one of the children traveling with us, put photos of our soon-to-be babies on our hotel room doors as a surprise for us.

I can't believe it's been a year!!!